Kellie Pickler recently split from her record label, Sony Music Nashville, after her latest album, 100 Proof, failed to match the sales success of her previous two releases. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kellie opens about the tough behind-the-scenes situation surrounding 100 Proof. “The process was hell,” Kellie says. “We couldn’t agree on songs. The thing is, my life is a country song. I don’t need to be manufactured, and I don’t need anyone to tell me what to say or what to sing.” Once the record came out, Kellie grew more frustrated with the lack of promotion from […]

(STATE COLLEGE, Pa.) — The Penn State child sex abuse investigation has already cost the university more than $12 million in crisis communication and legal fees. And the university is expected to shell out at least an additional $5 million in settlements, experts estimate. “I think that Penn State will likely be able to settle all of these sexual misconduct claims for something in the area of $5 million. There will be one or two claims that will be fairly expensive but the majority will go for a reasonable number,” said John Roskopf, vice president of Risk Management at EIIA, […]

The Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives organization is spotlighting Carrie Underwood‘s C.A.T.S Foundation this month. Carrie founded the organization to help the schoolchildren and animals in her hometown of Checotah, OK. So far, C.A.T.S. has donated musical instruments, band uniforms and computer labs for local schools. The organization also built a playground and new animal shelter in Checotah. Carrie and the Academy of Country Music Lifting Lives encourage fans to visit TheCatsFoundation.com for more information on how to help Carrie’s cause. Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Eric Church has sold about a half-million tickets on his Blood, Sweat & Beers tour so far this year, and he’s now selling out arenas down the street from clubs he was playing just two years ago. The whole experience of playing to that many people every night is surreal for Eric. He tells Canada’s Regina Leader-Post, “It’ll never feel normal for me because I’ll always feel like we’re the underdog a little bit. I’ll always feel like we’ve got to fight harder than everybody else, that we have to give it more than everybody else.” Eric is also wrapping […]

(WASHINGTON) — As more than half of the U.S. battles through drought conditions, the Department of Agriculture announced this week a series of improvements that will help farmers and ranchers receive federal assistance faster. The move, which will cut down on the processing time for relief and lower the interest rate for emergency loans, comes as the USDA declared a natural disaster in over 1,000 counties in 26 states. Those affected areas now qualify for help. “We need to be cognizant of the fact that drought and weather conditions have severely impacted and affected producers around the country,” Agriculture Secretary […]

(LAS VEGAS) — Two powerful, adult chimpanzees escaped a Las Vegas backyard and rampaged through a neighborhood on Thursday, leaping over backyard walls and pounding on cars before police killed one of the chimps and tranquilized the other. The Las Vegas neighborhood came to a standstill Thursday morning when two chimps, each standing more than 5 feet tall and weighing more than 150 pounds, broke free from their backyard cage and began to run wild. The female chimp, Calamity Jane, was subdued with two tranquilizers. The male chimp, Buddy, was shot by a police officer after he charged the cop. […]

(NEW YORK) — Deepening the mystery of missing Florida millionaire Guma Aguiar’s disappearance, experts examining newly released GPS data from Aguiar’s boat say it could suggest a scenario in which he jumped ship and boarded a waiting boat mid-sea. “The pattern is very identifiable. It just sort of fits as a scenario,” boat expert Henry Pickersgill told ABC News. “There appears to be a pattern in the vessel’s track, speed, longitude and latitude to indicate that it may have stopped briefly for enough time for Mr. Aguiar to have transferred to another vessel.” Pickersgill is an independent marine surveyor based […]